Tony Burgess preview

TONY BURGESS IS LONE CANADIAN RUNNING IN THE 24 HOURS OF LE MANS
(BOWMANVILLE, ON -- June 9, 2010) Toronto's Tony Burgess will be running
in his sixth 24 Hours of Le Mans race this weekend in France. He is the
only Canadian that will...

TONY BURGESS IS LONE CANADIAN RUNNING IN THE 24 HOURS OF LE MANS

(BOWMANVILLE, ON -- June 9, 2010) Toronto's Tony Burgess will be running
in his sixth 24 Hours of Le Mans race this weekend in France. He is the
only Canadian that will participate in the prestigious event.

In Burgess' five previous trips overseas for the world famous race, his
best finish was third in class back in 2000.

"It's the most famous of the sports car endurance races, having run since
the early 1920's," explained Burgess. "It is the grand daddy of them
all."

The 55-year-old will be running in the premier LMP1 category against some
of the best drivers and sports cars that the world has to offer. His main
goal for the Le Mans is to finish the race.

"We will be up against very good cars such as Audi and Peugeot," he says.
"We can't hope to match pace with them but it is an endurance race, so if
we finish without any delays then chances are we will be in the top 10."

Burgess' sponsors are Autocon Motorsports, Cyclo Oils and TDM Technical
Services. His car is an open-top Lola B06-10. It has a four litre, twin
turbocharged AER motor which runs at 850 horse power when participating in
North America. For the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the engine will be scaled
back to just below 700 horsepower.

"The engine is scaled back to enhance its reliability as it won't run as
hard," Burgess noted. "The car will still push over 300 km/h on the
straightaway at Le Mans which is a very long straight. There will be
plenty of performance out of the car; it's just scaled back from what we
use at a track like Mosport International Raceway."

For the race, Burgess explains that the three-driver team, consisting of
himself and Americans Michael Lewis and Bryan Willman, will run in
"stints" which consists of one tank of fuel. During the pit stops they
may have tire and driver changes but not necessarily every time. Each
stint usually lasts approximately 50-55 minutes. At the start of the
race, they will each run one stint before switching to get everyone
comfortable with the car and the track. After that, they will usually do
double or triple stints. The team also consists of a 20 man pit crew, so
that they can switch and can run all night.

For the average person, staying awake for 24-hours can be a tough task on
its own, let alone driving at top speed against world class competition.
Having run endurance races at Le Mans, Daytona, Spa, Bathurst and Mosport,
Burgess knows what he is in for and how to prepare.

"You do a few more runs and a few more reps at the gym," the Toronto
native says. "You know that you are in for a fairly gruelling physical
experience in a 24-hour race, but I have done it so many times before. I
don't have to do any extraordinary preparation. My head is already in the
right place."

Burgess will be at Mosport for the Mobil 1 Presents the Grand Prix of
Mosport on August 26-29. The race will be two hours and 45 minutes, a
relative sprint compared the one in France.

"Mosport is a track that is similar to Le Mans in that it is very fast and
very good for these types of cars," he said of his home track. "I always
look forward to Mosport; I think it's one of the best tracks in the world.
You need to be going flat-out all of the time."

Burgess is no stranger to Mosport. He raced motorcycles in 1971 before
running several years in series like F2000. His first trip to Mosport was
as a spectator for a Can-Am race in 1968 and he has been around the
facility ever since.